Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities - Division on ...

<strong>in</strong>dividually, due to the brief <strong>and</strong> non-specific
nature of their characterization. A few books
also <strong>in</strong>cluded characters with other disabilities,
<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g selective mutism, stutter<strong>in</strong>g,
<strong>and</strong> orthopedic impairments. A list of the
books <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g the title, author, illustrator (if
applicable), year published, <strong>and</strong> appropriate
read<strong>in</strong>g/<strong>in</strong>terest levels is displayed <strong>in</strong> Table 3.
Themes <strong>in</strong> the Field of <strong>Developmental</strong> <strong>Disabilities</strong>
Portrayals of the 42 <strong>in</strong>dividuals with developmental
disabilities were analyzed <strong>and</strong> categorized
across four themes: (a) characterization
of the <strong>in</strong>dividual with DD, (b) relationships
among characters with <strong>and</strong> without DD,
(c) changes <strong>in</strong> characters without DD, <strong>and</strong>
(d) special topics related to the field of DD.
Each theme will be discussed <strong>in</strong> detail, with
representative examples from the various
books.
Characterization
Characterizations of the <strong>in</strong>dividuals with DD
were analyzed <strong>in</strong> terms of (a) level (ma<strong>in</strong> or
support<strong>in</strong>g), (b) personal characteristics,
(c) realistic depiction, (d) positive portrayal,
(e) character development, <strong>and</strong> (f) po<strong>in</strong>t of
view from which the story was told. Brief summaries
of these characteristics are provided <strong>in</strong>
Tables 4 <strong>and</strong> 5.
Level (ma<strong>in</strong> or support<strong>in</strong>g). Ma<strong>in</strong> characters
are critical to the plot, often as protagonists or
antagonists, while support<strong>in</strong>g characters are
typically important to the growth of the ma<strong>in</strong>
characters. M<strong>in</strong>or characters enrich the plot,
but their presence is not essential to the development
or resolution of the climax of the
story. The level of characterization was determ<strong>in</strong>ed
as ma<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> 20 characters with DD
(48%), <strong>and</strong> support<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> 22 characters (52%).
One book, The Very Orderly Existence of Merilee
Marvelous, portrayed more than one ma<strong>in</strong> or
support<strong>in</strong>g character with DD.
Personal characteristics. Ages of characters
with developmental disabilities ranged from
<strong>in</strong>fant to adult. One character was an <strong>in</strong>fant, 3
were pre-schoolers, 24 were elementary age
children, 10 were teenagers, 2 were adults, the
age of one character was not evident (Autistic
Planet), <strong>and</strong> the support<strong>in</strong>g characters with
308 / <strong>Education</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Developmental</strong> <strong>Disabilities</strong>-September 2009
DD <strong>in</strong> We Go <strong>in</strong> a Circle appeared to be of
various ages.
Of the 42 characters with developmental
disabilities, 22 (52%) were <strong>in</strong>dividuals with
autism spectrum disorders, almost half of
whom (n 9, 41%) had Asperger Syndrome.
The rema<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g 20 characters with DD <strong>in</strong>cluded
those with <strong>in</strong>tellectual disabilities (n
8, 19%), Down syndrome (n 6, 14%), unspecified
developmental disabilities (n 3,
7%), fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (n 2,
5%) <strong>and</strong> multiple disabilities (Cerebral Palsy
<strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>tellectual disabilities; n 1, 2%).
A majority of the characters with DD were
males (n 25, 60%). Of those exhibit<strong>in</strong>g
symptoms of <strong>in</strong>tellectual disabilities (<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g
Down syndrome, fetal alcohol spectrum
disorder, multiple disabilities, <strong>and</strong> unspecified
developmental disabilities), 10 were male <strong>and</strong>
9 were female. One book, We Go <strong>in</strong> a Circle,
<strong>in</strong>cluded several boys <strong>and</strong> girls with various
unspecified disabilities. Of the 22 characters
with autism spectrum disorders, 14 were male
<strong>and</strong> 8 were female.
Several books depicted characters with developmental
disabilities or characters without
disabilities either <strong>in</strong> illustrations or text as be<strong>in</strong>g
from ethnically diverse cultures. However,
the determ<strong>in</strong>ation of some ma<strong>in</strong> or support<strong>in</strong>g
characters’ diversity was subjective if the
text <strong>and</strong>/or illustrations were ambiguous. In
this analysis, n<strong>in</strong>e (21%) depictions of characters
with developmental disabilities appeared
to be culturally diverse, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g Hispanic
(Crist<strong>in</strong>a Keeps a Promise; The Duchess to the Rescue;
Holy Smoke); African American (Accidents
of Nature; Jazz Off-Key); Asian (Ann Drew Jackson;
Jackson Whole Wyom<strong>in</strong>g), <strong>and</strong> undeterm<strong>in</strong>ed
(Autistic Planet). The rema<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g 32
characters did not give any <strong>in</strong>dication of represent<strong>in</strong>g
ethnically diverse populations, <strong>and</strong>
the characters <strong>in</strong> We Go <strong>in</strong> a Circle were considered
as a group to be ma<strong>in</strong>ly Caucasian.
Realistic depiction. Most of the portrayals of
the characters with DD were considered to be
realistic (n 31, 74%) because their disabilities
were similar to descriptions found <strong>in</strong> the
professional literature. Portrayals that were
partially realistic showed the character exhibit<strong>in</strong>g
many of the symptoms of the disability,
but also exhibited <strong>in</strong>consistencies <strong>in</strong> us<strong>in</strong>g
speech or actions, or the author provided lit-